Boton boss Gary Megson and new Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp prowl the side lines at the Lane.Roman Pavlyuchenko and Darren Bent grabbed the goals against Bolton at White Hart Lane but all eyes were on Redknapp after his appointment to succeed Juande Ramos as Spurs boss.
They are still bottom of the table but have made up ground with other strugglers and crucially have a morale-boosting first league win of the season, at the ninth attempt.
Bolton, who had Gavin McCann sent off, gave Spurs nervous moments but there is enough for Redknapp to work with when he gets to work this week, with key contributions coming from players who struggled under Ramos.
Ramos' hasty departure came too quick for the club to change the matchday programme, so fans were given a chance to read the Spaniard's final notes.
"If you believed everything that was being speculated on then your perception of the club would be far removed from the reality,'' he wrote.
The reality was Ramos heading back to Spain and Redknapp in the dressing room and dugout, even though reserve-team coach Clive Allen picked the team.
Redknapp was unveiled to the Spurs fans before kick-off - something not afforded to Ramos due to the embarrassing manner of Martin Jol's departure a year ago.
The encouraging sign for Redknapp was skipper Ledley King being available, four days after playing in the defeat to Udinese - it was the first time he had been ready for games in such quick succession for 10 months.
As expected of a team with a new manager, there was an extra zip to the hosts, something missing so far this season.
Jamie O'Hara had an early shot from long distance deflected over, then from the resulting corner it took a brave header from Andy O'Brien to prevent Pavlyuchenko from tapping in.
Luka Modric has struggled to make an impact since his £16.5million signing in the summer, but he was given a free role behind the striker and resembled a new player.
Like Modric, Pavlyuchenko has struggled since an impressive Euro 2008, and the Russian desperately needed the 18th-minute opener to bring his belief back.
David Bentley, back in the team after being dropped for Ramos' final game following an outspoken assessment on Spurs' start to the season, set it up when he picked the ball up on the right flank.
After exchanging passes with Alan Hutton, the early cross came and was met with a downward header from Pavlyuchenko 12 yards out, with the finish going in off the post.
"Harry Redknapp's white and blue army,'' sang the Spurs fans after watching two players who struggled under Ramos combine for the strike.
Confidence was returning to Spurs but their lapses in concentration still remained, and were never far away.
Benoit Assou-Ekotto, hauled off at half-time in Ramos' final match in charge, made a mess of a simple clearance to put goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes in trouble - the ball fell to Kevin Davies on the edge of the area and his finish dropped just wide.
Matt Taylor then saw an effort, from a similar distance but more central, curl wide, before Johan Elmander got a shot on goal that required King to clear off the line - after Spurs failed to clear a free-kick.
Tom Huddlestone had a couple of efforts before the break, the first when Jussi Jaaskelainen failed to hold a Bentley free-kick, then after O'Hara wriggled inside from the left and passed neatly.
Redknapp had said he wanted more steel in the midfielder - and Bolton were giving them a genuine battle.
Kevin Nolan picked up a booking and was fortunate not to get a second when he tripped Modric, while fellow midfielder McCann also went in the referee's notebook before the break.
The latter was dismissed 11 minutes into the second period, his second yellow card after he caught the ankle of Huddlestone.
Gomes' punching was erratic and Fabrice Muamba lobbed onto the roof of the net after one poor clearance.
Bent came on for Pavlyuchenko and should have added a second when Modric slipped him through, then Aaron Lennon - another substitute - fired over after Huddlestone had an effort saved.
Jaaskelainen brought down Bent with 16 minutes left, and the striker smashed the penalty into the bottom corner.
Bolton boss Gary Megson then endured abusive chants from his own fans after a double substitution - it really was Redknapp's day.
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